Wales Coach Pivac 'pleased' To See Anscombe End Two-year Injury Misery

Umer Jamshaid Published September 27, 2021 | 01:40 AM

London, Sept 26 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 27th Sep, 2021 ) :Wales head coach Wayne Pivac said he was "pleased" to see fly-half Gareth Anscombe play his first competitive game since August 2019 in the Ospreys' 27-23 win over the Dragons on Sunday.

Anscombe, 30, was his country's first-choice stand-off before suffering a serious injury in the Rugby World Cup warm-up loss to England two years ago.

The New Zealand-born playmaker is a leading candidate to wear the No. 10 shirt against the All Blacks on October 30 with English-based players, including Dan Biggar and Callum Sheedy, unavailable as the game falls outside the Test window.

Other options for Pivac in Cardiff pair Jarrod Evans and Rhys Priestland were injured during their region's United Rugby Championship victory over Connacht on Friday.

"He (Anscombe) is a very strong player and he's been a very good player for Wales in the past. He brings a lot of communication and organisation," Pivac told the BBC.

"He was a little bit rusty at the start, some of his kick-offs would not have been how he would have liked. He had some really good touches in that second half.

"He'll be really pleased to get 70 minutes under his belt as we were pleased watching him," he added.

Pivac's side also host World Cup holders South Africa on November 6, Fiji eight days later and Australia on November 20 during their autumn campaign.